China has not lifted its requirement that an Internet filtering program be shipped with all computers sold in the country, even though the plan was postponed this week, state media said Thursday.

It is just "a matter of time" before the mandate for PC makers to ship the program takes effect, the website of the official newspaper China Daily cited an unnamed official as saying Thursday.

China indefinitely delayed enforcement of the mandate late Tuesday, just hours before the deadline originally set for foreign and domestic PC makers to ship the program. But the announcement also said China would continue seeking input on how to carry out the plan.

China says the program, called Green Dam Youth Escort, is meant to protect children from "harmful" information online. The program blocks pornography and other content, including some related to politically sensitive issues such as criticisms of a former president. Sites are also blocked if they reference Falun Gong, the spiritual movement banned as a cult in China.

Foreign industry groups and the U.S. government had protested the mandate over concerns including the program's security, free speech, user privacy and the software's alleged theft of code from a U.S. company. More reading: